The present invention relates to rain gutter and downspout systems, and in particular to such systems with principal components formed of flat, seamless material that may be distributed on a spool and cut to a desired length.
Rain gutter and downspout systems are widely employed on commercial and residential buildings to direct rainfall to a desired location, thereby preventing erosion and the other deleterious effects of uncontrolled water run-off from building roofs. The U.S. market for rain guttering systems is large, exceeding one billion dollars annually. Those rain gutter systems on the market today fall into one of three major classes: vinyl sectional, metal sectional, and seamless metal. A fourth method, currently only used to a very small extent in Canada, is fused (or “virtually seamless”) vinyl.
Vinyl sectional rain gutter systems are constructed from pre-formed sections of U-shaped plastic material, usually ten feet in length. Because no expensive, customized equipment is necessary for the installation of sectional vinyl pieces, this class of rain gutter systems is the preferred choice of do-it-yourself installers. Sectional systems, however, are time-consuming to install, as connectors are required at each point where the pre-formed sections are fitted together. These connectors are prone to leak or otherwise fail after the system has been in place for some time. The connectors also increase the cost of this type of guttering system. One connector costs approximately two-thirds as much as a ten-foot gutter section. The connectors must be designed to allow for the high degree of expansion and contraction that occurs in the vinyl material due to changes in temperature. Another important disadvantage of this type of system is that the connectors ruin the smooth, uninterrupted appearance of the gutters, and thus may negatively impact the appearance of the home or other building upon which the gutters are installed. Appearance is known to be an important factor in the selection of a guttering system, particularly with respect to homes and retail business establishments.
Another factor adding to the cost of sectional vinyl gutter systems is the required hangers and downspouts. In order to prevent sagging, vinyl sectional guttering systems require hangers to be installed from the building at approximately two-foot intervals along each gutter section. The price of hangers for a typical installation project will be more than double the price of the ten-foot gutter sections themselves. The increased cost is a result of forming the connectors and hangers from the more expensive injection-molding technique required. Extruded plastic is much less expensive than injection-molded plastic. The downspouts for such systems are pre-formed into rectangular tubes, generally ten feet in length, and each such length is generally priced at one and one-half to two times the price of a ten-foot, U-shaped gutter section. It may thus be seen that much of the cost of this type of guttering system is hidden in the auxiliary components necessary for the installation of the complete system.
Metal sectional rain gutter systems are, like the vinyl sectional systems, constructed of pre-form U-shaped sections, again generally of ten-foot lengths. The sections in most metal gutter systems are constructed from aluminum, due to its low cost, relatively light weight, and resistance to corrosion. Copper and stainless steel sections are other options, but due to the prohibitively high cost of these materials they are seldom used. Like the vinyl sectional systems, the metal sectional systems also suffer from a number of disadvantages. Aluminum is easily bent, and once a bend occurs it is difficult or impossible to fully restore without the damage being visible. Each of the aluminum guttering system components must be painted for purposes of appearance, and any chip or nick in the paint will be highly visible. The installation of such a system is time-consuming due to the necessary use of connectors, which, as in the case of vinyl sectional systems, significantly drive up the cost of these systems. Also as with the vinyl sectional systems, the connectors ruin the clean, neat appearance of the guttering system.
Metal seamless, or continuous, guttering systems are formed on-site from flat sheets of metal. The flat metal, typically aluminum, is pulled from a spool or roll, cut to the appropriate length, and then bent or formed into the proper U-like shape by the use of a special forming machine. The downspouts of this type of system are typically pre-formed into a rectangular cross-sectional shape. Because the gutters are cut to the desired length on-site, this type of system require no connectors along the length of the building roofline, and thus provide the neat appearance that sectional gutter systems lack. For this reason, metal seamless guttering is by far the most popular choice for home guttering in the United States. This class of guttering system is, however, far more expensive than sectional guttering because of the requirement of a professional installation crew and forming machine on-site. The forming machine necessary to install metal seamless guttering costs an estimated $12,000 to $20,000, placing it well out of reach of typical do-it-yourself installers. The machine also requires special training for proper and safe use, thus discouraging a rental market for the forming machines. Like sectional metal guttering systems, the components of this system are highly susceptible to bending and chipping of paint.
A newer product on the market is fused vinyl, or “virtually seamless” vinyl guttering. This product is sold exclusively to gutter installation specialists and is currently available only in Canada. Using this system, the vinyl sections are fused together on-site by means of a fusing machine operated by the gutter installation crew. The beaded seam is then trimmed or sanded. Although the seam is thus still visible, it is not as glaringly visible as the connectors of traditional sectional guttering. Like seamless metal guttering, this type of guttering system is expensive, and not available for do-it-yourself installers. The machine used to fuse the guttering material costs an estimated $6,000 to $10,000, and, like the forming machine used for metal seamless gutters, is not safe for use by untrained do-it-yourselfers. Although this machine has a lower cost than that of the forming machine used for seamless metal guttering, the installation process for fused vinyl takes roughly twice as long, which drives up labor costs associated with installation. The hangers used for this type of guttering system, like the hangers used for vinyl sectional guttering, require injection molding, and are required at about every two feet of guttering length.
It may be seen that each of the existing classes of guttering systems suffer from important disadvantages. What is desired then is a guttering system that provides the neat appearance of seamless guttering but that does not require specialized equipment to form the guttering pieces from a flat roll on site. In particular, such a guttering system would be highly desirable if such system were safe and otherwise appropriate for installation by do-it-yourself homeowners.
The prior art does contain an attempt to develop a seamless plastic material for a gutter-related application. U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,464 to Demartini teaches a downspout for use with a rain gutter that is formed from a flat plastic sheet disposed on a roll prior to construction. The necessary downspout length is cut from the roll, then the sheet is bent into the desired shape, which may be either a rectangular or oval cross-sectional configuration. Bending is facilitated in the rectangular configuration by longitudinal regions in the plastic sheet that comprise a more flexible plastic material than the material used to form the bulk of the sheet. Alternatively, the plastic material forming the sheet may be made thinner where the bends are to occur so that the material will be more flexible at these locations.
While Demartini '464 teaches a downspout system formed using a plastic material that may be cut to a desired length, the system falls far short of a complete seamless guttering system, or even a gutter itself. Neither the rectangular nor oval configuration used for the downspout of Demartini '464 could be used for gutters, since the rainwater would have no means of entering the gutter when deployed. No system for connecting the pieces of such a system are taught by Demartini '464, since, due to the fact that Demartini '464 is limited to the use of a downspout for an existing gutter system, no such connectors are required. In addition, Demartini's downspout has no mechanism to lock and hold the rectangular or oval shape along its length. This will allow the downspout to twist and bulge out of shape between points of anchorage to the wall of the building. Also, without locking mechanisms the downspout material will be wavy after being wound on a spool. What is desired then is a complete guttering system that is formed of a continuous flexible sheet, providing the advantages of such a system that are described herein.